The Glass Kunoichi: Chapter 3
by The Otaku Writing Freaks
Summary: In a world of shinobi, your abilities are everything and Akane Kato has a particularly dangerous bloodline jutsu possessing unheard of defensive capabilities. Word of her talent falls on evil ears one day and an adventure unlike any other mission she's had before is set in motion.


The Glass Kunoichi

by

Spottedleaf9

Chapter 3

When we finally got back to Kakashi, he was waiting with our newest team mate.

Blinking, I mentally groaned. It was Rock Lee, who seemed to think my choice of green attire meant I was trying to be more like him. He was also enthusiastic and because of this, had broken a few of my bones before.

Of course, he was also very chilvalrous and this meant that he had gotten down on his knees, picked me up, and carried me to Tsunade who only told him what I had; to take me home so I could get into the pouch with the medication Tsunade made for just such occasions. This was why I could not be seen training with the fuzzy-browed ninja; despite having similar struggles. He was limited only to taijitsu and I had my own, also crippling problem.

"Akane-chan! Naruto-chan! Gai-sensei said that I was going to learn under a new teacher today with some of my friends." He paused and added, "Then he went to cry. Probably because it's Kakshi-sensei."

I smiled at him. "Morning, Lee-kun. Have you eaten?" The pear had settled strangely on my stomach because I had my suspicions about whatever Kakashi was hiding from us.

A slightly distressed look flitted across his face. "I've asked you before not to call me 'kun', Akane-chan. You're only a month older than me and we're both so youthful. There's no need. Call me 'chan' like you do for Naruto."

On cue, Naruto's stomach growled and this made Kakashi smile. Somehow, I'd always been able to tell when his facial expressions changed; despite his all-covering mask. "We don't have time for breakfast, sadly. The hokage told me to leave with you immediately. We were only waiting because you needed to get your medication." As soon as he said it, a look of regret crossed his face. He'd made me seem as if I'd held up the team and knew how badly I would feel.

With a hurt smile, I joked. "That's me. Akane, always holding everyone up." Kakashi sighed, aware that he could not take it back.

"Akane..." He started, but I was already walking past to the front gates of the village; the ones that normally stood open with two guards on duty; determined to be a contribution. Naruto caught up easily enough and fell into place beside me.

"Akane, Kakashi-sensei didn't mean anything by that. Besides, if you weren't capable, do you really think Tsunade-sama would send you on such a dangerous mission? She may be a granny, but she's not an idiot." Naruto unexpectedly showed me a moment of wisdom, and caught off guard, I blinked at him.

"Arigato...Naruto-chan. But you didn't have to tell me that. I know that I'm a formidable opponent. All I have to do is touch someone and they cannot hurt me." I smiled at him reassuringly to show that I was ok and then Lee caught up.

"Whatcha talking about? New training methods? There's this thing Gai-sensei and I like to do-" Zoning out as I always did when Lee wanted to talk about his weird habits, I turned my attention inward, gauging the force I put my foot down with each time. I hated to admit it, but I had broken my foot by putting it down with too much weight and once, when I got angry and stomped, I had broken a femur. My unique bloodline jutsu was something of a nuisance to me; even if it was so airtight.

While Naruto chatted amiably with Lee, I fell back; walking slower so that I would be with Kakashi as my two team mates walked ahead. "Kakashi-sensei," I started, determind to get in my word first. "I will not disappoint you. I want to get stronger, so I will work myself as hard as any other shinobi student. That is all I wanted to tell you."

With a smile, he nodded. "I see."

The journey was uneventful and in fact, took so little time that when we finally reached an inn for the night, Lee couldn't stop bouncing about yelling that his youth was being wasted. I wasn't the only one who began to develop a twitch in her eye at this.

As we were settling down for the night, Kakashi approached me. "Akane, I'd like you to take the first watch. I know this is an inn in a well populated town, but that doesn't mean anything. Guard us as if we were set up in the middle of a forest."

I nodded and went to stand on the balcony, so I could watch people coming and going on the streets below. In the sky above me, the stars glittered coldly, winking their pale light down upon the night time scenes below. For the first few hours, nothing changed.

It was toward the end of my shift when I saw the movement in a shadow on the corner of the store front ahead of me. Focusing on the point, I saw that the flicker of black and red had been the fluttering of a cape. Someone had just ducked around that corner. My eyes narrowed. People don't duck corners unless they're watching someone and wish to remain unobserved in their studies.

Taking a quick look back at the sleeping forms in the room behind me, I slipped out the door and down the stairs to the street below. It was my watch and that meant I had to deal with anything that roused suspicion. Telling myself that I was only doing the job I had been assigned to do, I reached my dominant left hand into the pouch on my right hip and pulled out a kunai; specially balanced for the force I put into my throws. Something small and white scuttled out of the shadows and came to a stop just in front of my sandals.

I had a moment to frown before a voice spoke from the shadows. "Katsu!" Realizing that the small object was in fact a spider of clay, I had one more moment to open my mouth and wail in despair as I was blasted back. The somewhat cute creature had exploded; right there, with the force to send me flying. _Shit! I'll break every bone in my body going at this speed...I can't even activate my ultimate defense. I'm going to be unable to fight, depending on how I land._

With a crunch that ran all the way up my spine to echo dull and sickly in my head, I slammed into the brick wall of the inn I had previously vacated. This crunch was the sound of two of my ribs fracturing from catching the corner of the inn and my lower leg for smashing into the wall and taking the brunt of the attack. With a low cry, I coughed and felt the coppery taste of blood bubbling up in my mouth. Unable to breathe, or indeed draw in a breath to scream, I lay there gasping like a fish out of water; curled inward around my ribs.

Reaching with shaking hands for the pouch on my hip, I fumbled with the latch and tried to swear; again having no breath to do so properly. When I got the bottle of medicine out, the tiny square tablets inside clicked against each other and made small 'tink' noises against the ceramic container holding them safe from the elements.

The container was cracked from being slammed into a brick wall and I counted myself lucky that shards of it had not broken off and stabbed me for additional damage. With fingers that slipped once or twice, I managed to get the cork out of the short bottle and spilled the contents into my palm. Shaking the ceramic container, I shook six of the orange tablets into my hand. These quickly made their way into my mouth and tiny as they were, I swallowed them at once; not stopping or having time to reach for a drink.

Laying back on the concrete and trying to breathe as little as possible to keep from coughing blood onto the ground, I heard footsteps. My scream had been loud enough to rouse my team and as my eyes slowly clouded with the painkillers entering my blood stream, I saw the bottom edge of a cape across the street by the store. It was black and had small red clouds on it. _I feel like I should know what that means._ I had time to register Kakakshi crouching beside me and giving me a quick field check before Lee entered the scene; dashing across the street.

With a shout, he attacked; jumping upward and leaving my field of vision from the ground. "Konoha senpuu!" It was a kick then, but a kick that did not matter. The figure in the cloak had quickly fled at the sound of my approaching comrades; fast enough that not even Lee had caught him in his manuever.

Kakashi shook me gently. "How many, Akane? Come on, focus." He snapped his fingers and my blurry, half-lidded gaze shifted to him. "How many did you take?" He asked once more and I was startled to come the conclusion I needed to speak.

Drawing in a ragged breath and wincing at the sharp pain in my lower chest and upper abdomen, I answered, aware questions required answers and that answers required air to speak them. "Six." I murmured. "I...ate six of them. I broke in one major spot and fractured two minor bones."

"Six?" I couldn't see Kakashi's mouth, but somehow knew that he was frowning. "Akane, you've been told time and again that your worst case scenario still only allows for you to take four." He wasn't loud or angry, but seemed either upset or disappointed. I couldn't tell through the fog. Naruto had joined him and was worriedly searching my face as we spoke; hovering behind Kakashi as our sensei looked down, afraid to move me anymore than I already had been; for the time being.

"I had to get back up and that I could not do if I were focused on a broken femur, Kakashi-sensei. I sought only to deaden the pain to a point where I could stand up and block attacks until help arrived." Naruto's face filled with something that was not surprise, but pain. He was used to me being so insistent on fighting on, but it got no easier for my old friend to watch me struggle. Joining us, Lee wore the same face.

"It was a man with long, yellow hair. He had blue eyes and...well that was all I could see before he got away." The young, green-suited ninja spoke without breaking a sweat; unbothered by his recent, half fight.

"That would be Deidara." Scooping his arms under me, one on my upper back and the other supporting my legs behind the knees, Kakashi stood; bearing my weight. "We have to leave this town immediately. I'd really rather return to Konoha, but I'm sure the organization he's a part of would expect this. I'll send Pakkun to Tsunade-sama and ask about our course of action, but for now, we carry on with the mission."

I had expected this much and as I was lifted into the air, my vision blurred out even further and I closed my eyes. "Kakashi-sensei, I think...you're right. Six was excessive. I couldn't...stand if I had to. All it did was make me very, very tired."

"Sleep." This was all he said and I didn't hesitate to let unconsciousness rush over me in a thick, black, crushing wave.


End file.
